5 

336 

444 


MESSAGE 


OF 


I  SHAM     G,     HARRIS, 


GOVERNOR  OF  TENNESSEE, 


®0  ifce 


OCTOBER   4,   1859. 


MESSAGE 


OF 


ISHAM   G.  HARRIS, 


01 


TO      THE 


GENERAL  ASSEMBLY  OF  THE  STATE, 


OCTOBER    5,    1859. 


NASHVILLE,    TENN: 

G-.  Eastman  &  Co.,  !P-u.blic  Printers. 

1859. 


MESSAGE. 


Executive  Department, 
Nashville,  Oct.  4,  1859. 


Crentlemen  of  the  Senate, 

and  House  of  Representatives  : 

CHARGED,  as  I  have  been,  for  the  last  two  years  with  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  State  Government,  and  the  execution  of  its  laws,  I 
proceed  to  the  performance  of  the  duty  assigned  me  by  the  Consti- 
tution,  of  submitting  to  your  consideration  such  information  as  I 
may  have  as  to  the  state  of  the  government,  and  such  recomuicnd- 
ations  as  I  deem  best  calculated  to  promote  the  interests  and  pro- 
D  tect  the  rights  of  the  people  of  Tennessee. 

THE   FISCAL   CONDITION    OF   THE    STATE 

Is  as  follows  : 

Received  into  the  Treasury  from  all  sources,  from 

1st  October,  185T,  to  1st  October,  1859,    -         -    $1,848,094  88 

Add  to  this  balance  remaining  in  the  Treasury  on 

the  1st  October,  1857,      -  -  36,496  06 

6  -- 

Which  makes  the  total  receipts     -  -         -    §1,884,590  94 

Di-bursements  for  all  purposes,  from  1st  October, 

185T,  to  1st  October,  1859,       ....       1,704,287  61 


§  Which  leaves  balance  in  the  Treasury  on  1st  Octo- 

*  ber,  1859,  of    -        -        -         -    '     -         -        -       §180,303  33 

o 

o 

For  a  full  and  detailed  account  of  all  the   sources  and  various 
items  of  receipts  and  expenditures,  you  are  respectfully  referred  to 

5  the  full  and  lucid  reports  of  the  Comptroller  and  Treasurer. 

<  By  reference  to  the  Comptroller's  report,  it  will  be  seen,  that  the 

aggregate  expenditures  of  the  two  years,  ending  1st  October,  1859, 
have  been  increased  to  the  extent  of  §341,609  71,  by  various  ex- 


traordinary  expenditures  required  by  law  to  be  paid  out  of  the 
Treasury,  within  that  period,  for  the  items  of  which  you  are  referred 
to  the  Comptroller's  report. 

Take  this  amount  from  the  gross  aggregate  expenditures  of  the 
two  years,  and  it  leaves,  as  the  actual  expenditures  for  the  ordinary 
purposes  of  government,  including  the  payment  of  interest  on  actual 
indebtedness  of  the  State,  the  sum  of  $1,362,677  90. 

The  most  rigid  scrutiny  into  all  the  expenditures  of  the  government 
is  invoked,  in  order  that  they  may  be  reduced  to  the  lowest  point 
consistent  with  public  justice  and  sound  public  policy. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  Comptroller's  report,  that  the  aggregate 
taxable  property  of  the  State  amounts  to  $377,208,641  00,  being  an 
increase  of  taxable  property,  since  the  1st  October,  1857,  of 
§76,849,830  00 ;  and  that  the  receipts  into  the  Treasury  for  the 
last  two  fiscal  years  have  been  considerably  more  than  sufficient  to 
meet  the  expenditures  of  the  same  period. 

In  this  connection,  it  is  proper  that  I  call  your  attention  to  the 
fact,  that  sixty-six  thousand  six  hundred  and  sixty-six  dollars  and 
sixty-six  cents  of  the  bonds  of  the  State,  issued  for  State  stock  in 
tho  Nashville,  Murfreesboro'  and  Shelbyville  Turnpike  Company,  fail 
due  on  the  25th  July,  1861,  the  duty  of  providing  for  the  payment 
of  which  devolves  upon  your  present  session. 

THE  ACTUAL  INDEBTEDNESS  OF  THE  STATE 

Is  as  follows : 

5  per  cent.  Bonds,  issued  for  State 

stock  in  Turnpike  Roads,  $1,091,190  00 

5J  per  cent.  Bonds,^issued  for  same 

purpose,    -  -       137jl66  66 

Total  for  stock  in  Turnpike  Roads,  $1,228,856  66 

5  per  cent.  Bonds,  issued  for  State 
stock  in  East  Tenn.  and  Georgia 
Railroad,  -  -  $650, 000  00 

5  per  cent.  Bonds,  issued  for  State 
stock  in  the  Memphis  and  La- 
Grange  Railroad,  -  83,250  00 

5£  per  cent.  Bonds  issued  for  same,        102,000  00 


Total  for  State  stock  in  Railroads,  885,250  00 

5  per  cent.  Bonds,  issued  for  State 
stock   in   the    Union   Bank,  yet 

unpaid,     -  -       125,000  00 

6  per  cent.  Bonds,  issued  to  raise 
Capital  of  the  Bank  of  Tennes- 
see, -        -        -        -     1,000,000  00 


Total  for  Bank  stock,  yet  unpaid,  1,125,000  00 

6  per  cent.  Bonds,  issued  for  the 

construction  of  State  Capitol,  yet 

unpaid.  608,000  00 

6  per  cent.  Bonds,  issued  for  the 

purchase  of  the  Hermitage,  48,000  00 

Total    actual   indebtedness   of  the 

State,  §3,844,606  66 

Upon  which  an  annual  interest  is  paid  of  $209,388  25. 

THE    LIABILITIES   OF   THE   STATE 

On  account  of  bonds  loaned  to  Internal  Improvement  Companies, 
are  as  follows,  to  wit : 

6  per  cent.   Bonds  of  the  State,  interest  payable  semi-annually, 
loaned  to  Railroad  Companies,      $10,348,000  00 

6  per  cent.  Bonds  of  the  State  loaned 

to  Turnpike  Companies,  57,000  00 

6  per  cent.  Bonds  of  the  State  loaned 

to  Agricultural  Bureau,  30,000  00 

Total  amount  of  Bonds  loaned §10,435,000  00 

Bonds  of  Internal  Improvement 
Companies,  the  payment  of  the 
principal  and  interest  of  which 
is  guaranteed  by  the  State  are  as 
follows,  to  wit : 

The  Bonds  of  Railroad  Companies,      2,014,000  00 

The  Bonds  of  the  City  of  Mem- 
phis for  the  benefit  of  Memphis 
and  Little  Rock  Railroad  Co., 

Total  amount  of  endorsed  Bonds, 


Total  present  liabilities  of  the  State 

exclusive  of  actual  indebtedness,  12,799.000  00 

Add  actual  debt  of  the  State,  3,844,606  66 


Which  makes  the  total  liabilities  of 

the  State  of  every  character,  $16,643,606  66 

As  most  of  the  Internal  Improvements  to  which  the  aid  of  the 
State  is  pledged  by  existing  laws,  are  completed,  or  far  advanced 
towards  completion,  it  is  confidently  believed  that  the  prospective 
liabilities  of  the  J3tate  in  aid  of  those  works,  will  not  far  exceed 
three  millions  of  dollars. 

The  indomitable  energy  and  enterprise  of  our  people,  and  the 
very  liberal  policy  pursued  by  the  State  government,  have  secured 
to  the  State  a  splendid  system  of  Railroads  and  Turnpikes,  which 


6 

give  to  every  section  of  the  Commonwealth  easy  access  to  the  mar- 
kets of  the  world. 

It  is  gratifying  that  I  am  able  to  state  to  you  that  up  to  this  time 
our  Railroad  Companies  have  paid  each  installment  of  interest  upon 
heir  State  bonds  promptly  at  maturity.  The  fact  that  they  have 
been  able  to  do  so,  through  a  period  of  commercial  revulsion  and 
general  financial  derangement  throughout  the  whole  country,  while 
most  of  their  roads  were  in  progress  of  construction,  with  only 
short  and  disconnected  lines  in  operation,  necessarily  earning 
very  little  compared  with  what  their  earnings  must  be  when  com- 
pleted and  important  commercial  connections  are  formed,  and 
through  trade  established,  encourage  the  confident  belief  that  now, 
as  the  various  roads  are  being  completed,  penetrating  every  com- 
mercial locality  within  the  Atlantic  States,  greatly  increasing  their 
business  and  profits,  that  they  will  in  future  be  able  to  pay,  as  they 
have  done  heretofore,  all  of  their  liabilities  promptly  as  they  fall 
due. 

The  act  of  1856,  chapter  120,  requires  all  Railroad  Companies, 
which  have  received  the  aid  of  the  State,  either  by  the  loan  or  en- 
dorsement of  bonds,  at  the  expiration  of  five  years  from  the  date  of 
issuance,  and  annually  thereafter,  to  pay  into  the  treasury  of  the 
State  a  sinking  fund  of  2  per  cent,  upon  the  amount  of  said  bonds, 
and  makes  it  the  duty  of  the  Governor,  Comptroller,  and  President 
of  the  Bank  of  Tennessee,  as  a  Board  of  Sinking  Fund  Commission- 
ers, to  invest  said  fund  in  6  per  cent,  bonds  of  the  State,  and  an- 
nually re-invest  the  accruing  interest,  «&c. 

The  first  instalment  of  this  fund  fell  due  in  1858,  since  which 
time  we  have  collected  from  the  various  Companies  §82,840  95, 
which  we  have  invested,  with  the  interest  accruing  on  the  same,  in 
the  6  per  cent,  bonds  of  the  State  and  those  endorsed  by  the  State, 
amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  $109,750,  having  purchased  said 
bonds  at  the  current  rate  of  discount ;  upon  which  we  will  hereafter 
collect  an  interest  of  $6,41 7  50  annually. 

These  bonds  are  deposited  in  the  Bank  of  Tennessee  and  the  re- 
ceipt of  the  President  of  the  Bank  for  them  is  on  file  in  the  Comp- 
troller's office. 

The  Commissioners  have  deemed  it  proper  to  keepthe  account  of 
each  Company  separate,  and  to  invest  the  funds  of  each  for  its  own 
benefit.  For  a  statement  of  their  various  accounts  you  are  referred 
to  the  Comptroller's  report. 

The  time  fixed  by  the  act  referred  to,  for  the  payment  of  this 
fund,  is,  "  at  the  expiration  of  Jive  years  from  the  date  of  issuance 
or  endorsement." 

The  general  internal  improvement  act  requires  all  bonds  to  bear 
date  the  1st  day  of  January  of  the  year  in  which  they  are  issued,  under 
which,  all  bonds  issued  within  the  year  must  bear  the  same  date, 
though  in  point  of  fact,  portions  of  them  are  being  issued  and  deliv- 
ered to  the  companies  every  month  in  the  year. 


To  avoid  the  necessity  of  frequent  settlements  with  the  various 
companies,  and  the  collection  of  sums  too  small  for  investment  in  a 
bond,  and  inasmuch  as  the  bonds  all  bear  date  the  first  day  of  Jan- 
uary, I  have  fixed  that  as  the  day  upon  which  the  annual, instal- 
ment is  due  and  payable.  Some  of  the  companies  contend  with 
plausibility,  if  not  indeed,  correctly,  that  the  first  instalment  of  the 
sinking  fund  upon  each  separate  lot  of  bonds  recieved  by  them,  falls 
due  five  years  from  the  day  upon  which  the  bonds  were  received. 

If  this  be  the  proper  construction  of  the  act,  itimposes  the  necessity 
of  a  number  of  settlements  with  each  company  every  year,  necessarily 
resulting  in  the  collection  of  a  small  portion  of  this  fund,  each  sefr- 
tlement,  and  balances  too  small  for  investment,  thus  produced,  lying 
idle  in  the  hands  of  the  Commissioners,  to  the  injury  of  the  com- 
pany. 

I  therefore  respectfully  recommend  the  passage  of  a  law  fixing  a 
day  upon  which  the  entire  sinking  fund  of  each  year  shall  be  paid. 
This  will  obviate  the  necessity  of  more  than  one  settlement  with 
each  company  annually,  and  secure  the  collection  of  sums  sufficiently 
large  for  investment. 

If  the  companies  continue  to  pay  their  sinking  fund  as  they  have 
done  heretofore,  of  which  1  have  no  doubt,  the  present  mode  of  in- 
vestment will  extinguish  the*entire  Railroad  debt  of  the  State  before 
maturity. 

It  is  to  be  regretted,  however,  that  notwithstanding  the  entire 
success  of  our  internal  improvement  enterprises  thus  far,  and  the 
fact  that  the  interest  upon  our  bonds,  and  the  bonds  themselves  as  they 
have  matured,  have  been  in  every  instance  punctually  paid,  yek 
Tennessee  bonds  are  selling  in  the  market  at  a  discount  of  near 
ten  per  cent.,  owing  in  a  great  measure,  as  I  believe,  to  the  large 
number  of  them  thrown  upon  the  market,  which  has  a  tendency  to 
shock  the  confidence  of  capitalists  who  know  the  extent  of  our  liabil- 
ities, and  know  very  little  of  our  immense  resources.  And  the  inan- 
mer  in  which  they  are  but  too  frequently  sold  by  inexperienced 
holders  who  know  little  or  nothing  of  the  stock  market,  at  just  such 
prices  as  they  will  command  upon  forced  sale,  is  well  calculated  to 
depreciate  the  credit  of  the  State,*and  has  unquestionably  had  that 
effect  to  some  extent. 

In  vieAV  of  which  facts  I  cannot  too  earnestly  recommend  that  the 
liabilities  of  the  State  be  not  increased. 

Under  the  present  revenue  laws,  it  is  held  that  the  bonds  of  the 
State  in  the  hands  of  individuals  are  taxable,  the  policy  of  taxing 
our  own  bonds  may  well  be  doubted,  as  it  is  certain  that  to  the  extent 
they  are  taxed  their  value  will  be  diminished,  and  certainly  we 
should  adopt  no  policy  which  would  tend  to  discredit  or  depreciate 
them  at  home. 

The  Comptroller's  Report  shows  that  $1,228,356  66  of  the  actual 
indebtedness  of  the  State  was  contracted  for  stock  in  Turnpike  roads, 
upon  which  amount  the  State  pays  an  annual  interest  of  $61,760  75, 


8 

while  the  dividends  upon  the  stock  paid  into  the  treasury  the  last 
year,  amount  to  the  sum  of  $20,844  76,  which  shows  an  ex- 
cess of  interest  paid  over  the  amount  of  dividends  received,  of 
§40,915  99,  annually,  to  say  nothing  of  the  principal,  which  must 
be  provided  for  and  paid,  at  maturity.  Governments  are  never  pro- 
fitted  by  investments  of  this  character,  or  partnerships  with  indivi- 
duals, corporations  or  stock  companies.  They  never  manage  such 
enterprises,  or  interests  in  them,  successfully,  or  so  well  as  individu- 
als, and  in  my  opinion,  the  sooner  the  connection  of  the  government 
with  those  corporations^  is  dissolved  the  better  f6r  the  people  of  the 
State. 

I  therefore  recommend  the  passage  of  a  law  authorizing  the  Com- 
missioner of  Roads,  or  Secretary  of  State,  by  and  with  the  consent 
of  such  other  officers  of  the  government  as  may  be  deemed  advisa- 
ble, to  sell  the  stocks  owned  by  the  State  in  all  internal  improve- 
ment companies,  and  appropriate  the  proceeds  to  the  extinguishment 
of  that  much  of  the  actual  indebtedness  of  the  State. 

The  Act  of  27th  February,  1854,  Ch.  44,  Sec.  1,  provides  "that 
after  paying  the  interest  on  the  bonds  of  the  State,  issued  for  stock 
in  the  Union  Bank,  the  balance  of  dividends  and  bonus  shall  be  paid 
on  the  order  of  the  Governor  and  Comptroller  for  6  per  cent,  bonds 
of  the  State." 

The^3d  section  of  the  Act  requires  the  Governor  and  Comptroller 
to^cancel  the  bonds  purchased  with  this  fund,  until  the  amount  shall 
equal  the~sum  paid  out  of  the  Treasury  for  the  redemption  of  Union 
Bank  bonds. 

Under  this  Act  my  predecessor  and  Comptroller  Crozier,  received 
of  this  fund  the  sum  of  -  §156,376  94. 

Whichjjthey  invested  as  follows  : 
20  Capitol  Bonds,  §250  each,  due  1st 

of  April,  1858,  $5,000  00 

Interest  paid  on  same,  126  16 

56  Capitol  Bonds,  $250  each,  due  1st 

of  April,  1858,  14,000  00 

32  Capitol  Bonds,  $250  each,  due  1st 

November,  1859,  8,000  00 

Interest  paid    on  above    88  bonds,  568  00 

59  Capitol  Bonds  $1000  each,  due  July, 

1886,  59,000  00 

Interest  on  same,  590  00 

50    Capitol   Bonds,  §1000   each,    due 

March,  1876,  50,000  00 

19   Capitol  Bonds,    §1000  each,    due 

March,  1871,  19,000  00 


Total  paid  for  the  above  $155,000  of  bonds  including 

interest  paid  on  them,  ....         $156,284  16 


9 

Which  left  to  the  credit  of  the  Governor  and  Comp- 
troller, ...  92  78 

The  above  described  bonds  were  cancelled  by  Governor  Johnson 
and  Comptroller  Crozier,  and  are  now  on  file  in  my  office. 

The  present   Comptroller  and  myself  received  from 
the  Union  Bank  in  1858,  the  balance  of  dividends 
v    and  bonus  for  the  year  1857,  the  sum  of  §18,681  08 

Add  to  this  the  balance  to  the  credit  of  Johnson  and 

Crozier,  •'.,  .  .  92  78 


Which  makes  the  total  receipts  in  1858,  §13,773  86 

With  which  we  purchased  three  6  per  cent  Capitol 
Bonds,  §250  each,  and  fourteen  6  per  cent.  Bonds 
of  the  State,  of  $1000  each,  for  all  of  which  we  paid 
the  sum  of -  13,635  00 


Which  left  to  our  credit  a  balance  of  $138  86 

The  bonus  due  from  the  Union  Bank  for  the  year 

1858,  we  received  in  1859,  amounting  to  9,965  54 

Premium  received  in  exchanging  ten  bonds  for  ten 

other  bonds  having  less  time  to  run,  200  00 


Total  receipts  in  the  year  1859,  10,304  40 

With  which  we  purchased  eleven  6  per  cent.  Bonds  of 

the  State,  of  $1000  each,  at  90c,  9,900  00 


Which  left  to  our  credit  a  balance  of 

Add  to  this  the  proceeds  of  the  above  described  three 
Capitol  Bonds,  of  $250  each,  which  fell  due  in  1859, 
and  were  paid,  750  00 


And  it  makes  the  sum  of     -  - 

With  which  we  purchased  one  6  per  cent.  Bond  of  tke 
State,  of  $1000,  at  90c, 


Which  leaves  to  our  credit  in  tho  Bank  of  Tennessee 
a  balance  of  ...  $254  40 

The  bonds  thus  purchased  by  Comptroller  Dunlap  and  myself  are 
deposited  in  the  Bank  of  Tennessee,  and  the  receipt  of  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Bank  for  them  is  on  file  in  the  Comptroller's  office. 

The  Act  of  1856,  Ch.  62,  Sec.  3,  requires  the  President  and 
Directors  of  the  Bank  of  Tennessee  to  invest  the  interest  accruing 
upon  the  bonds  purchased  with  this  fund ;  we*1  therefore  deemed  it 
proper  to  deposit  them  there. 

I  am  unable  to  see  any  desirable  object  which  is  to  be  accomplished 


10 

by  keeping  this  as  a  separate  fund.  The  stock  owned  by  the  State 
in  the  Union  and  Planters'  Banks  having  been  sold,  we  no  longer 
receive  dividends,  and  the  only  item  composing  this  fund  in  future, 
will  be  the  bonus  paid  by  the  Union  Bank,  which,  by  the  charter  of 
the  Bank,  is  appropriated  to  the  Common  School  Fund. 

I  therefore  recommend  that  the  Acts  of  1854  and  1856,  above 
referred  to,  so  far  as  they  relate  to  this  fund,  be  repealed,  and  that 
the  fund  be  paid  directly  into  the  treasury,  and  distributed  as  other 
school  funds. 

BANKING. 

Currency  being  the  measure  by  which  the  value  of  labor  and 
property  is  determined,  its  amount,  uniformity,  certainty  and  char- 
acter, become  matters  of  deep  interest  and  importance  to  the  whole 
people. 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  provides  that,  "No  State 
shall  coin  money,  emit  bills  of  credit,  or  make  anything  but  gold 
and  silver  coin  a  tender  in  payment  of  debts." 

The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  has  decided,  that  the 
States  are  not  prohibited  from  incorporating  companies  to  issue  bank* 
notes  and  conduct  the  business  of  banking.  And  upon  the  authority 
of  the  decisions  of  that  court,  the  States  have  assumed  the  same 
power  to  incorporate  companies  for  this  purpose,  that  they  have  to 
incorporate  them  to  manufacture  iron,  domestics,  or  any  other  com- 
modity. Yet  they  have  no  more  power  to  give  currency  to  a  bank 
note  than  to  the  iron,  domestics,  or  any  other  commodity  upon  the 
market.  No  power  "to  make  anything  but  gold  and  silver  coin  a 
tender  in  the  payment  of  debts,"  or  to  compel  any  man  to  use  any- 
thing but  coin  in  any  of  the  varied  transactions  between  men.  Every 
individual  being  left  perfectly  free  to  use  or  reject  a  paper  currency, 
as  he  may  see  proper,  the  Constitution  recognizing  nothing  but  gold 
and  silver  as  the  standard  of  value  and  medium  of  exchange. 

The  Constitution  of  Tennessee  prohibits  your  "passing  any  law 
for  the  benefit  of  individuals,  inconsistent  with  the  general  laws  of 
the  land ;  or  any  law  granting  to  any  individual  or  individuals,  rights, 
privileges,  immunities,  or  exemptions  other  than  such  as  may  be,  by 
the  same  law,  extended  to  any  member  of  the  community  who  may 
be  able  to  bring  himself  within  the  provisions  of  such  law :  Provided 
always,  the  Legislature  shall  have  power  to  grant  such  Charters  of 
incorporation  as  they  may  deem  expedient  for  the  public  good." 

This  clause  of  the  Constitution  forbids  the  passage  of  anj»  act  of 
incorporation,  except  such  as  are  "expedient  for  the  public  good" 

The  primary,  leading,  and  controlling  object  must  be,  to  promote 
the  interests  of  the  public — not  those  of  the  individuals  incor- 
porated. 

Yet  the  effect  of  the  charter  is,  to  clothe  the  individuals  with  pow- 
ers and  special  privileges  usually  highly  beneficial  to  them,  and  from 


11 

which  the  balance  of  the  community  are  excluded.  One  of  which 
is,  in  banking  corporations,  the  privilege  of  issuing  two  or  more  dol- 
lars in  paper  for  every  dollar  of  their  actual  capital,  with  the  whole 
amount  of  which  they  discount  the  notes  of  individuals  at  the  rate 
of  six  per  cent,  thus  realizing  from  twelve  to  twenty-five  per  cent 
per  annum  upon  their  actual  capital  in  this,  the  least  profitable  part 
of  their  business,  for  they  realize  yet  much  larger  profits  in  the 
purchase  of  bills  of  exchange.  To  illustrate  which,  take  the  case  of 
the  Planter  who  draws  his  bill  upon  New  Orleans  at  thirty  days  ;  the 
bank  discounts  the  bill  at  the  rate  of  six  per  cent  per  annum,  as  in- 
terest, in  addition  to  which  it  takes  one  per  cent  from  the  whole 
amount  of  the  bill  as  exchange,  thus  making  the  simple  item  of  ex- 
change equal  to  twelve  per  cent  per  annum :  add  the  items  of  in- 
terest and  exchange  together  and  it  makes  eighteen  per  cent  per  an- 
num as  the  profit  which  the  bank  charges  upon  the  loan  of  its  noteSj 
and  if  it  issues  only  two  dollars  of  its  notes  for  one  of  specie,  it 
makes  the  round  sum  of  thirty-six  per  cent  per  annum,  which  the 
bank  realizes  upon  its  actual  capital,  while  individuals  who  do  not 
enjoy  similar  privileges,  can  only  realize  six  per  cent  per  annum  upon 
theirs. 

But  the  profits  of  this  transaction  do  not  stop  here,  for  at  maturi- 
ty, the  bill  of  exchange  is  paid  by  the  planter  in  New  Orleans,  and 
the  fund  placed  to  the  credit  of  the  bank,  upon  which  it  draws  its 
check,  which  is  sold  to  the  home  merchant  at  a  premium  of  one  per 
cent,  which  if  repeated  monthly,  makes  another  item  of  profit  of 
twelve  per  cent  per  annum ;  add  this  to  the  items  of  interest  and  ex- 
change originally  taken  from  the  bill,  and  it  swells  the  profits  upon 
the  actual  capital  of  the  bank  to  forty-eight  per  cent. 

Now  when  the  public  part  with  these  privileges  by  conferring  them 
upon  individuals,  the  good  of  the  public  is  the  sole  object  to  be  ac- 
complished, according  to  the  plain  rule  laid  down  by  the  Constitution, 
and  the  greatest  care  should  be  taken  at  all  times,  that  this  should 
be  secured  ;  and  certainly  it  will  not  be  contended  that  this  can  be 
done  by  anything  less  than  securing  to  the  people  a  convenient, 
.sound,  uniform,  and  convertible  currency ;  and  all  must  agree  that 
the  larger  the  specie  basis  in  all  banking  corporations,  and  the  more 
complete  the  control  which  the  people  have  over  them  for  the  pur- 
pose of  checking  their  excesses,  the  sounder  and  more  uniform  their 
currency,  and  consequently,  the  greater  the  probability  of  their  pro- 
moting the  public  good :  and  surely  the  corporators  cannot  object  to 
any  restrictions  and  reservations  necessary  to  the  accomplishment  of 
this  object.  For  they  are  bound,  not  only  by  the  plain  letter  and 
spirit  of  the  Constitution,  but  by  every  consideration  of  sound  poli- 
cy, public  justice  and  common  honesty,  to  furnish  to  the  communi- 
ty a  currency  as  sound,  uniform,  and  reliable  as  the  one  which  they 
displace,  a  currency  which  is  at  least  the  representative  of,  and  not 
the  mere  substitute  for,  specie,  one  which  is  at  all  times  convertible 
into  coin  at  the  will  of  the  holder. 


Biit  has  such  been  the  history  of  banking  under  the  present  sys- 
tem in  Tennessee  ? 

They  have,  in  many  instances,  issued  as  high  as  four,  six,  eight 
and  even  ten  dollars  of  their  paper  for  one  in  specie. 

They  have  made  their  notes  payable  at  points  the  most  remote 
from  the  place  of  putting  them  in  circulation,  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
tarding their  return  upon  the  bank  for  payment,  thus  depreciating 
their  paper  and  making  it  less  valuable  to  the  holder. 

They  have  expanded  and  contracted  at  will,  causing  injurious  and 
disastrous  fluctuations  in  trade,  and  affecting  the  price  of  every 
man's  labor  and  property. 

And  not  unfrequently,  actuated  by  a  spirit  of  selfish  avarice  and 
cupidity,  they  have  flooded  the  country  with  their  circulation,  by 
which  they  have  stimulated  overtrading — wild  and  reckless  specula- 
tions— habits  of  luxury  and  extravagance,  and  induced  thousands  of 
our  population  to  abandon  the  fruitful  fields  of  production,  for  the 
more  fascinating,  yet  more  hazardous  fields  of  speculation  ;  and  when 
they  have  reaped  the  full  benefit  of  a  large  business,  and  the  bubble 
can  be  expanded  no  farther,  public  confidence  becoming  shocked, 
and  the  country  threatened  with'commercial  revulsion  as  one  of  the 
legitimate  fruits  of  their  conduct,  they  have  quietly  closed  their 
doors  and  said  to  the  victims  of  their  policy  :  We  extend  no  farther 
accommodations ;  we  have  suspended,  and  will  not  even  pay  the 
notes  you  hold  upon  us.  Thus  leaving  in  the  hands  of  the  people  a 
depreciated  and  irredeemable  paper,  as  their  only  currency — the 
losses  by  the  depreciation  of  which,  fall  upon  the  industrial  classes, 
who  are  usually  the  note  holders ;  while  the  banks  avail  themselves 
of  the  depreciation  by  transmitting  their  available  means  to  some 
one  of  the  commercial  cities  of  the  North,  and  charging  their  note 
holders  from  3  to  10  per  cent,  premium  for  exchange,  or  in  other 
words,  they  first  depreciate  their  own  paper  by  refusing  to  pay  it, 
and  after  having  depreciated  it,  they  buy  it  up  at  from  3  to  10  per 
cent,  discount,  paying  for  it  in  a  check  on  New  York  instead  of  gold. 

Now,  when  Banks  redeem  their  paper  in  gold,  you  can  never  be 
under  the  necessity  of  paying  higher  than  about  -£  of  one  per  cent, 
for  exchange  upon  any  point  within  the  Atlantic  States.  For  ex- 
change is  always  worth  just  what  it  will  cost  to  transmit  the  gold  to 
the  place  of  payment,  and  gold  can  be  transmitted  from  Tennessee 
to  any  commercial  point  within  that  limit  at  a  cost  of  about  J  of  one 
per  cent. 

The  country  is  now  just  recovering  from  a  period  of  about  ten 
months  suspension  of  specie  payments,  upon  the  part  of  all  the  banks 
in  Tennessee,  in  which  every  bank  in  the  State  was  selling  exchange 
at  a  premium  of  from  three  to  ten  per  cent.,  except  the  Bank  of 
Tennessee,  which  furnished  exchange  to  the  extent  of  her  ability 
throughout  the  whole  period  of  suspension  at  a  premium  of  one  per 
cent. 

These  are  some  of  the  evils  of  our  present  banking  system,  under 


the  practices  of  our  most  solvent  banks,  to  say  nothing  of  the  mil- 
lions of  dollars  which  have  been  lost  to  the  people  of  Tennessee  by 
the  failure  and  insolvency  of  others,  not  sufficiently  guarded  and 
restricted ;  evils  to  which  the  community  have  been  compelled  to 
submit,  because  those  corporations  are  clothed  with,  and  fortified  by, 
irrcpealable  charters,  which  enable  them  thus  to  outrage  the  public 
interest  with  impunity,  and  to  defy  the  whole  people  and  the  Legis- 
lative authority  of  the  State.  For  under  the  present  system,  when 
you  have  passed  a  bank  charter,  and  the  company  has  organized 
under  it,  it  is  held  by  the  courts,  that  there  is  no  power  in  the  gov- 
ernment to  abolish,  no  power  to  add  a  single  restriction  or  safeguard, 
however  necessary  and  important  further  restrictions  may  be  for 
the  security  of  the  interests  of  the  public  ;  and  when  the  individual 
citizen  appeals  to  the  courts  of  the  country  for  relief,  they  may  say 
to  him,  it  is  clear  that  you  are  wronged  and  oppressed  by  these 
institutions,  but  they  are  clothed  with  vested  rights  under  their 
charters,  over  which  we  have  no  power,  and  therefore,  can  give  you 
no  relief. 

Can  institutions  which  engage  in  practices  like  these,  so  selfish  *and 
antagonistic  to  the  general  prosperity  of  the  country  ;  institutions, 
whose  only  object  seems  to  have  been  the  realization  of  the  largest  possi- 
ble profits,  regardless  of  the  great  injury  or  ruin  which  they  bring  upon 
the  balance  of  the  community,  clothed  with  prwer  to  go  on  in  their 
career  of  reckless  speculation,  defying  any  legislative  enactment 
intended  so  to  reform  them  as  to  protect  the  best  interests  of  the 
people  for  whose  benefit  they  were  established,  be  "  dee:ned  expe- 
dient for  the  public  good?"  When  so  far  from  promoting  the  public 
good,  they  have,  under  this  unrestricted  system,  been  vampires  upon 
the  public  interest,  fattening  upon  the  misfortunes  of  the  people, 
which  their  own  policy  has  produced. 

That  a  paper  currency  is  a  convenience  to  the  public,  no  unpre- 
judiced mind  can  deny ;  but  that  it  is  a  convenience,  which,  under  our 
present  system,  has  cost  the  people  vastly  more  than  it  is  worth,  is 
equally  clear.  And  the  only  means  of  preserving  this  convenience, 
so  as  to  make  it  beneficial  to  the  people,  is  by  radically  reforming  the 
whole  system,  and  throwing  around  it  such  stringent  restrictions  and 
safeguards  as  will  secure  uniformity,  and  perfect  certainty  as  to  the 
convertibility  of  the  paper  into  coin  at  all  times,  at  the  will  of  the 
holder. 

And  as  a  means  of  accomplishing  this,  it  is,  in  my  opinion,  indis- 
pensably necessary  that  upon  the  face  of  every  charter  you  should 
expressly  reserve  to  the  people,  through  their  Legislature,  the  power 
to  modify  or  abolish  such  charter,  when  in  their  opinion  the  public 
interest  demands  it. 

Indeed,  to  deprive  the  people  of  the  power  to  control  or  abolish 
institutions  created  by  their  authority  and  alone  for  their  benefit, 
is  inconsistent  with  the  great  and  fundamental  principle  of  self-gov- 
ernment. 


14 

I  maintain  that  the  people  are  at  all  times  capable  of  determining 
for  themselves,  and  are  the  hest  judges,  as  to  what  will  promote  their 
own  interests.  That  they  have  a  right  to  determine  for  themselves 
the  number  and  character  of  banks  they  will  have,  and  to  restrict  and 
guard  them,  as  the  lights  of  experience  may  prove  to  be  necessary, 
ami  to  abolish  them  when  they  fail  to  perform  their  functions  fully  arid 
properly,  and  cease  to  be  a  public  benefit.  And  for  one  Legislature 
to  fasten  upon  the  State  a  number  of  banking  institutions  for  a  period 
of  thirty  or  fifty  years,  the  charters  of  which  cannot  be  amended, 
modified  or  repealed,  is  an  usurpation  of  the  rights  of  future  Legis- 
latures, contrary  to  the  principles  of  self-government,  and  an  out- 
rage upon  the  rights  of  posterity. 

It  is,  in  eifect,  denying  to  those  who  shall  come  after  us  the  rights 
which  we  claim  and  exercise  for  ourselves.  And  not  only  for  our- 
selves ;  for,  by  this  policy,  we  undertake  to  penetrate  the  dark  and 
distant  future,  and  decide  for  our  successors,  for  the  next  quarter  or 
half  century,  the  character  of  institutions  which  they  shall  have, 
withholding  from  them  the  power  to  mould  or  modify  them  to  suit 
their  necessities  or  convenience,  or  to  protect  themselves  against  the 
wrongs  which  they  may  perpetrate,  or  to  abolish  them,  however  per- 
nicious and  prejudicial  to  the  public  interest  they  may  become  :  thus 
denying  to  the  people,  in  the  future,  the  privilege  of  profiting  by  the 
wholesome  lessons  taught  by  the  experience  of  an  entire  generation. 

I  will  never  assume  the  responsibility  of  denying  to  the  people, 
in  the  future,  the  right  of  deciding  for  themselves  as  to  the  charac- 
ter of  institutions  which  will  "be  expedient  for  the  public  good," 
aided,  as  they  will  be,  in  determining  the  question,  by  the  lights  of 
experience,  and  the  facts  and  circumstances  which  time  will  have 
developed. 

If  the  people  of  the  present  day  need  and  desire  banks,  they  have 
a  right  to  make  such  as  the  Constitution  contemplates,  and  to  manage 
and  control  them  for  themselves  ;  but  they  have  no  right  to  forestall 
the  popular  will  and  tie  the  hands  of  their  successors.  For  the  expe- 
rience of  every  man  proves  that  the  policy  which  may  be  highly 
expedient  at  this  time,  and  under  present  circumstances,  may  become 
the  very  reverse  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  when  circumstances 
have  changed.  And  the  great  distinguishing  feature  of  our  Gov- 
ernment, which  commands  the  love  of  its  citizens,  and  the  respect 
and  admiration  of  the  civilized  world,  is  that  it  is  purely  a  Govern- 
ment of  the  people,  who  have  the  capacity  and  the  right  to  mould 
and  modify  their  institutions  and  their  laws  to  suit  their  own  inter- 
est and  convenience,  and  the  circumstances  Avhich  may  surround  them 
from  time  to  time  ;  but  if  you  adhere  to  the  policy  of  irrepealable 
charters,  the  result  is  the  establishment  of  sovereignties  within  our 
midst,  invested  with  powers  to  affect  materially  the  interest  of  every 
man  in  the  community,  with  regard  to  which  the  people  have  no 
power  except  that  of  patiently  enduring  such  wrangs  as  may  be  per- 
petrated upon  them. 


15 

There  is  no  dissenting  voice  in  this  country,  and  I  trust  there  never 
\vill  be,  to  the  proposition  that  the  people,  through  their  Legislature, 
may  at  all  times  make,  modify,  or  repeal  the  laws  upon  which  the 
life,  liberty,  and  property  of  every  man  in  the  State  depend ;  yet 
this  policy  of  irrepealable  charters  and  "vested  rights"  denies  to 
them  the  power  to  modify  or  repeal  the  law  upon  which  the  special 
privileges  and  franchises  of  a  soulless  corporation  depend.  Are 
these  to  be  held  more  sacred  by  the  people  of  Tennessee  than  the 
life,  liberty  and  property  of  the  citizen  ? 

Let  the  banking  system  of  the  State,  like  all  other  measures  of 
public  policy,  be  placed  under  the  control  of  the  people,  and  then 
just  so  long  as  the  banks  perform  their  functions  fully  and  in  good 
faith  ;  just  so  long  as  they  make  themselves  advantageous  and  bene- 
ficial to  the  public ;  just  so  long  as  they  are  "expedient  for  the  pub- 
lic good,"  they  will  be  fostered  and  sustained;  and  when  they  fail 
in  these  respects,  they  ought  to  be  abolished. 

The  fact  that  their  continued  existence  is  made  to  depend  upon 
their  promoting  the  public  good,  by  a  full  and  fair  performance  of 
duty,  would  furnish  the  powerful  incentive  of  self  preservation  as  a 
motive  to  banks  to  avoid  excesses,  However  much  tempted  by  the 
prospect  of  large  profits,  and  to  perform,  with  perfect  fidelity,  their 
whole  duty  to  the  people. 

It  seems  to  me  that  you  had  as  well  expect  a  rational  people  to 
shut  themselves  in  from  light,  air,  and  the  genial  warmth  of  the  sun, 
as  to  expect  them  to  strike  down  institutions  which  are  promotive  of 
their  interests,  and  beneficial  and  convenient  to  them;  and  the  Con- 
stitution forbids  your  chartering  any  corporation  which  is  not  of  this 
character.  Hence,  corporators  who  intend  to  make  a  bank  which  will 
furnish  to  the  people,  at  all  times,  and  under  all  circumstances,  a 
sound,  uniform,  and  convertible  currency,  need  have  no  fear  of  the 
reserved  power;  and  it  would  be  unwise  and  impolitic  in  the  extreme, 
as  well  as  unconstitutional,  to  give  them  the  privilege  of  creating 
one  of  a  different  character. 

About  half  the  States  of  the  Union,  and  amongst  them  New  York 
and  Pennsylvania,  two  of  the  largest  commercial  States  in  the  Gov- 
ernment, guided  by  the  lights  of  long  experience  in  banking,  have 
been  forced  to  adopt  the  policy  of  reserving  complete  legislative 
control  over  their  banking  institutions.  New  York  adopted  this 
policy  by  legislative  enactment  in  1829-30,  and  after  testing  it  by  a 
trial  of  sixteen  years,  it  was  incorporated  into  the  constitution  of 
that  State,  and  there  is  not  a  single  instance  upon  record,  where  it 
has  been  adopted  by  any  State  that  the  reserved  poAver  has  been 
abused  by  the  people. 

Indeed,  I  cannot  see  why  they  should  be  expected  to  abuse  this 
power  any  sooner  than  any  other  or  every  other  legislative  power 
which  they  possess. 

I  therefore  earnestly  recommend  the  following  restrictions,  as  in- 


16 

dispensably  necessary  to  any  system  of  banking  which  is  expected 
to  furnish  a  sound,  uniform,  and  convertible  currency  : 

First. — The  power  reserved  to  the  people,  through  the  Legislature, 
to  anmend  or  repeal  the  charter  when  "  deemed  expedient  for  the 
public  good"  to  do  so. 

Second. — That  no  bank  shall  be  permitted  to  issue  more  than  two 
dollars  of  paper  for  one  of  specie,  or  to  permit  its  entire  liabilities  to 
note  holders,  depositors,  and  others,  at  any  time,  to  exceed  the  spe- 
cie in  the  vaults  more  than  three  for  one. 

The  experience  of  the  financial  world  has  demonstrated,  beyond 
controversy,  that  the  convertibility  of  a  paper  currency  cannot  be 
maintained,  at  all  times,  when  the  disproportion  between  their  specie 
and  liabilities  runs  higher  than  this. 

Third. — That  no  bank  be  permitted  to  issue  any  note  of  less  de- 
nomination than  twenty  dollars.  This  will  secure  a  specie  currency 
for  all  the  smaller  business  transactions  of  the  country,  and  at  least  a 
partial  exemption  from  losses  by  bank  failures  and  a  depreciated 
currency,  of  that  class  of  the  community  who  are  lea-st  benefitted 
by  bank  accommodations,  and  yet  are  generally  the  most  serious 
sufferers  by  their  failures  or  depreciation.  And  the  large  amount  of 
specie  necessarily  retained  in  the  country  in  constant  circulation 
under  this  policy,  would  go  far  to  relieve,  if  it  did  not  prevent  the 
commercial  revulsions  and  financial  derangements  which  have  been 
of  but  too  frequent  recurrence.  , 

Fourth. — That  no  bank  or  branch  bank  in  the  State  shall  issue  or 
put  in  circulation  any  note  or  bill  that  is  not  payable  in  specie  at  the 
counter  where  the  same  is  issued  or  put  in  circulation. 

The  issue  by  each  bank  of  nothing  but  its  counter  notes,  would 
confine  the  circulation  of  each  bank  to  the  legitimate  wants  of  the 
community,  upon  whose  trade  it  is  predicated.  It  would  tend  to 
secure  a  sound  currency  in  each  and  every  neighborhood  in  which  a 
bank  may  be  located,  by  affording  to  all  an  opportunity  of  convert- 
ing into  coin,  without  expense,  whatever  paper  might  not  be  needed 
as  a  mere  matter  of  convenience  for  our  internal  trade. 

The  facility  for  returning  notes  thus  issued  upon  the  bank  for  re- 
demption, would  serve  as  a  constant  check  upon  the  banks,  and  would 
do  much  towards  keeping  them  within  safe  limits.  It  would  put  an 
end  to  that  system  of  flooding  the  country  with  the  depreciated  or 
doubtful  issues  of  our  own  or  foreign  institutions. 

Fifth. — The  individual  property  »f  each  stockholder  to  be  liable  for 
the  debts  of  the  bank,  but  as  between  themselves,  their  liability  to  be 
in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  stock  taken  by  each,  and  this  liability 
to  the  creditors  of  the  bank  to  continue  for  the  term  of  four  months 
after  public  notice  of  any  transfer  of  stock,  so  that  the  creditor  may 
proceed  against  the  original  stockholder,  if  he  prefers  doing  so  to  re- 
lying upon  the  solvency  or  management  of  the  purchaser  of  the  stock. 
This  will  prevent  solvent  stockholders  from  relieving  themselves 


17 

from  liabilities  to  creditors  by  transferring  their  stock  to  insolvent 
parties. 

Stockholders  establish  banks  and  invest* their  capital  in  them  for 
their  own  pecuniary  benefit;  they  have  the  management  and  control 
of  them ;  if  profits  accrue  they  are  the  beneficiaries ;  if  losses  are 
sustained,  they  are  bound,  by  every  consideration  of  honesty  and 
fair  dealing,  to  bear  them ;  but  without  some  provision  making  them 
individually  liable,  the  stockholders  will  pocket  the  profits,  and  when, 
through  their  mismanagement  or  fraud,  the  bank  fails  or  its  paper 
depreciates,  the  note  holders  are  forced  to  sustain  the  losses.  Bank- 
ing is  purely  the  speculation  of  the  stockholders,  and  they  must 
incur  its  hazards  if  they  would  realize  its  profits. 

Indeed,  where  the  managers  of  a  bank  are  disposed  to  act  fraudu- 
lently, they  may  enrich  themselves,  by  getting  in  circulation  the 
largest  amount  of  their  paper  possible,  suspend  payment,  discredit 
the  paper,  and  buy  it  up  at  mere  nominal  rates,  or  pocket  the  assets 
and  leave  their  creditors  to  look  to  the  empty  vaults  of  the  corpora- 
tion for  satisfaction  of  their  claims.  Make  them  individually  liable 
to  the  creditors,  and  they  will  have  no  motive  to  discredit  their  own 
paper,  for  they  will  be  bound  to  make  it  good  to  the  holder,  and  you 
will  thus  secure  a  much  more  prudftit  and  safe  management  of  these 
institutions,  than  we  have  had  under  the  present  system. 

Sixth. — Require  the  registration  and  countersigning  of  every  note 
to  be  issued  by  a  bank,  by  the  Secretary  of  State,  or  some  other 
officer  of  the  government,  by  which  means  the  public  can,  at  all 
times,  know  the  maximum  circulation  of  every  bank  in  the  State, 
and  it  would  go  far  to  prevent  over  issues. 

Seventh. — The  creation  of  a  Board  of  Supervisors,  consisting  of 
three  competent  men,  who  shall  have  the  power  to  enter  and  examine 
the  condition  of  every  bank  in  the  S^ate,  at  any  time,  and  whose 
duty  it  shall  be  to  do  so  at  least  quarterly,  and  report,  through  the 
columns  of  some  newspaper  at  Nashville,  their  true  condition,  so 
that  the  public  may  knoAV  the  real  condition  of  the  various  banks, 
and  to  what  extent  they  are  worthy  of  confidence. 

The  only  information  the  public  has  as  to  the  condition  of  banks, 
under  the  present  system,  is  through  the  reports  of  their  officers,  who 
are  interested  in  making  the  most  favorable  report  possible,  and 
whilst,  in  a  great  majority  of  cases,  these  reports  are  honestly  and 
fairly  made,  yet,  in  some,  they  are  not ;  and  the  people  are  deeply 
interested  in,  and  have  a  right  to  know,  the  true  condition  of  every 
ban  in  the  Stats. 

Eighth. — Make  the  suspension  of  specie  payment  for  the 
term  of  twenty  days,  or  the  violation  of  any  provision  of  the 
act  of  incorporation  a  forfeiture  of  charter,  and  give  the  supervisors 
the  power,  when  they  shall  be  satisfied  by  a  full  examination  that 
any  bank  has  thus  suspended  or  violated  its  charter,  and  that  the  se- 
curity of  the  public  interest  demands  it,  to  attach  the  assets  of  the 
bank  for  the  benefit  of  creditors,  and  to  proceed  at  once  to  prose- 
2 


18 

cute  the  bank  to  a  judgment  of  forfeiture.  Make  it  also  their  duty  to 
report  to  each  session  of  the  Legislature,  and  to  recommend  such 
reforms  as  they  may  deem,  necessary  to  the  perfection  of  the  system. 

Ninth. — Such  penalties  and  forfeitures  as  will  insure  a  strict  ob- 
servance of,  and  conformity  to,  all  of  the  above,  and  such  other  re- 
strictions as  you  may  see  proper  to  impose. 

With  these  restrictions  imposed  upon  the  banking  system  of  the 
State,  our  currency  must  become  much  more  uniform,  sound,  and  re- 
liable, than  it  has  been  heretofore  under  the  present  banking  sys- 
tem, and,  under  these  restrictions,  stockholders  have  an  ample  mar- 
gin for  legitimate  and  highly  remunerative  profits. 

While  it  is  indispensably  necessary  to  the  security  of  the  public, 
that  the  people  should  hold  Legislative  control  over,  and  have 
the  power  to,  protect  themselves  from  injury  resulting  from  improper 
practices  of  these  institutions,  by  guarding,  restricting,  or  abolishing 
such  banks  as  they  may  see  proper  to  charter,  yet  it  is  confidently 
believed  that  the  State  should  not  engage  in  banking,  or  any  other 
business  or  speculation  in  competition  with  her  citizens,  with  a  view 
to  money  making.  In  addition  to  which,  it  may  truly  be  said,  that 
you  rarely  find  the  same  amount  of  care  and  energy  exercised  in  the 
execution  of  a  public  trust  that  is«common  to  the  prosecution  of  pri- 
vate and  individual  enterprise :  and  as  an  investment,  it  is  confident- 
ly believed  that  if  the  entire  property  of  the  Bank  of  Tennessee  was 
converted  into  money,  and  with  the  capital  of  the  bank  invested  in 
the  six  per  cent,  bonds  of  the  State,  that  it  would  result,  ultimately, 
in  more  profit  to  the  Treasury  than  our  present,  or  any  other  system 
of  government  banking  i ;  likely  to  do.  Thus  furnishing,  to  that  ex- 
tent, a  home  market  for  our  State  securities,  already  depreciated  for 
the  want  of  it,  and  ridding  the  State  government  of  the  expensive 
and  demoralizing  machinery  of  a  banking  institution,  and  of  the 
hazards  necessarily  incident  to  the  banking  business. 

The  President  and  Directors  of  the  Bank  in  their  report  to  the 
last  session  of  the  Legislature,  say,  "that  the  true  interest  of  the 
State  will  hereafter  be  best  promoted  by  a  dissolution  of  all  connec- 
tion with  the  banks  or  internal  improvement  companies,  at  as  early 
a  period  as  the  finances  of  the  State  will  admit  of  it,  without  unne- 
cessarily oppressing  the  people,  and  with  due  regard  to  the  public 
faith  pledged  to  them." 

In  this  opinion  I  fully  concur.  One  million  of  dollars  of  the 
capital  of  the  bank  was  raised  by  the  issue  and  sale  of  that  amount 
of  the  bonds  of  the  State.  These  bonds  fall  due  in  1868,  and  must 
be  paid  either  by  taxation  or  out  of  the  capital  of  the  bank. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  the  true  policy  of  the  State  will  be  found  in 
winding  up  the  Bank  of  Tennessee  at  the  expiration  of  its  charter, 
and  leaving  the  business  of  banking  to  private  enterprize,  under  such 
guards  and  restrictions  as  the  Legislature  may,  from  time  to  time, 
see  proper  to  throw  around  it. 

For  a  statement  of  the  business,  profits  and  condition  of  the  Bank 


19 

of  Tennessee,  you  are  respectfully  referred  to  the  report  of  the  Pre- 
sident and  Directors. 

In  this  connection  I  earnestly  recommend  the  adoption  of  resolu- 
tions, proposing  so  to  amend  the  Constitution  of  the  State,  as  to 
prohibit  the  Legislature  from  chartering  banks  or  other  speculative 
corporations,  without  reserving  the  power  to  amend,  modify,  or  re- 
peal the  same. 

Without  such  constitutional  prohibition,  a  single  session  of  the 
Legislature  favorabls  to  the  policy,  may  fasten  upon  the  State  any 
aumber  of  corporations  of  this  character,  for  half  a  century,  depriv- 
ing the  people  of  the  power  to  control  or  to  abolish  them,  however 
much  every  member  of  the  community  may  feel  the  absolute  neces- 
sity of  doing  so. 

The  importance  of  the  subject  demands  that  I  repeat  to  you  a 
recommendation  which  I  had  the  honor  of  submitting  to  the  Legis- 
lature at  its  last  session,  of  "  an  amendment  of  the  Constitution  of 
the  State,  so  as  to  fix  a  reasonable  limit,,  beyond  which  the  Legisla- 
ture shall  not  go,  in  creating  a  debt  or  liability  of  the  State,  without 
first  submitting  the  question  directly  to  the  people,  except  in  cases 
of  invasion,  insurrection,  or  rebellion.  Such  an  amendment  is  cer- 
tainly wise  and  proper  in  itself,  securing  to  the  people  the  right  to 
be  consulted,  and  to  determine  for  themselves,  by  popular  vote, 
whether  they  will  take  upon  themselves  the  liability  proposed  or  not ; 
especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that  our  legislative  elections  are  generally 
made  to  turn  much  more  upon  party  considerations  and  federal  politics 
than  upon  local  or  State  policy,  and  most  of  the  questions,  out  of  which 
have  sprung  these  heavy  liabilities,  have  been  very  little  discussed, 
if,  indeed,  they  have  been  discussed  at  all,  before  the  people,  previ- 
ous to  their  enactment. 

Another  salutai'y  effect  following  such  an  amendment  is,  that  it 
would  inspire  confidence  in  such  seeui  ities  as  the  State  has  issued,  or 
may  hereafter  issue,  throughout  the  money  markets  of  the  world  ; 
and  to  the  extent  that  you  convince  capitalists  that  we  have  not 
issued,  and  will  not  issue  bonds  beyond  our  ability  to  pay,  do  you 
restore  and  appreciate  the  credit  of  the  State." 

THE     PENITENTIARY. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  Report  of  the  Inspectors  and  Agent  of 
the  Penitentiary,  that  there  has  been  a  gradual  and  constant  increase 
in  the  number  of  convicts  received  at  the  Prison  for  the  last  two 
years.  The  number,  however,  is  constantly  fluctuating  by  the  receipt 
of  new  convicts  and  the  discharge  of  others.  The  average  may  be 
safely  set  down  at  about  four  hundred. 

The  institution  is  laboring  under  some  serious  disadvantages,  which 
the  best  interests  of  the  State,  as  well  'as  the  laws  of  humanity,  re- 
quire should  be  speedily  remedied. 

It  is  impossible  to  employ  the  labor  of  the  average  number  of  con- 


20 

victs  profitably  within  the  area  of  the  present  prison  walls.  In  my 
opinion  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  the  walls  be  extended  north 
to  thn  northern  boundary  of  the  property  owned  by  the  State,  so  as 
to  include  the  entire  property.  There  is  not  within  the  present  in- 
closure  sufficient  shop  room  for  the  hands,  shelter  room  for  the  neces- 
sary stock  of  material,  or  ware  room  for  the  articles  manufactured. 
If  you  would  employ  the  labor  of  the  convicts  profitably,  additional 
shops  must  be  built,  or  every  shop  in  the  prison  enlarged.  In  ad- 
dition to  which  a  ware  and  sale  room  in  front  of  the  prison,  where 
every  article  shall  be  deposited  so  soon  as  completed,  and  where  all 
sales  shall  be  made  by  one  salesman,  is  indispensable  to  the  success 
of  the  institution  in  a  pecuniary  point  of  view.  The  last  Legislature 
appropriated  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars  (810,000)  for  the  pur- 
pose of  building  additional  cells ;  and  under  the  supervision  of  the 
present  very  efficient  Board  of  Inspectors  and  Agent,  a  new  wing, 
containing  one  hundred  and  twenty  cells,  has  been  constructed, 
which  I  am  satisfied,  will,  in  point  of  security,  neatness,  convenience, 
and  comfort,  compare  favorably  with  any  prison  in  the  United  States. 
But  the  old  building  had  only  two  hundred  and  thirty-two  cells,  and 
the  new  wing  has  one  hundred  and  twenty,  which  makes  the  whole 
number  only  three  hundred  and  fifty-two,  while  the  number  of  con- 
victs almost  constantly  considerably  exceed  the  number  of  cells. 
More  cells  are  indispensable  to  the  health  and  comfort  of  the  con- 
victs, and  should  by  all  means  be  provided  for  without  delay. 

There  is  at  present  no  place  of  deposit  for  the  excrement  from 
the  prison.  The  practice  heretofore  has  been  to  haul  it  out  and  de- 
posit it  near  the  walls  upon  adjacent  lots  owned  by  individuals,  but 
the  country  around  the  prison  is  being  rapidly  settled  up  and  becom- 
ing densely  populated,  and  the  community  will  not,  and  should  not 
be  expected  to  submit  to  the  creation  of  a  nuisance  of  this  character 
in  their  midst.  The  only  remedy  for  this  evil  will  be  found  in  the 
construction  of  a  subterranean  sewer,  which  will  carry  off  all  of  this 
excrement,  without  injury  or  offence  to  any  one. 

It  is  believed  that  much  the  greater  portion,  if  not  all  the  work 
in  the  construction  of  the  improvements  necessary,  can  be  done  by 
the  convicts,  if  the  Legislature  should  see  proper  so  to  employ  their 
labor.  In  that  event,  however,  appropriations  from  the  Treasury 
will  be  necessary,  for  the  purchase  of  material  and  the  support  of 
the  institution  while  their  labor  is  thus  employed. 

For  full  and  accurate  information  as  to  the  business  and  condition 
of  the  Penitentiary,  you  are  referred  to  the  report  of  the  Inspectors 
and  Agent.  From  which  it  will  be  seen  that  the  available  assets  for 
the  last  two  years  are  about  equal  to  the  liabilities  incurred  for  the 
same  period,  and  the  labor  of  the  convicts  in  the  construction  of  the 
new  wing,  is  estimated  at  about  (§27,000j  twenty-seven  thousand 
dollars,  and  the  stone  cut  for  the  Capitol  is  estimated  at  about 
(317,000)  seventeen  thousand  dollars  more  than  they  receive  for  it, 
which  makes  a  total  of  ($44,000)  forty-four  thousand  dollars,  about 


21 

which  .amount,  it  is  believed  by  the  Agent,  -would  have  been  realized 
from  the  prison,  if  the  entire  labor  of  the  convicts  had  been  employed 
in  manufacture  instead  of  improvement. 

The  general  management  of  the  prison,  as  regards  discipline, 
subordination,  cleanliness,  and  the  observance  of  all  rules  necessary 
to  the  preservation  and  promotion  of  health  and  comfort,  will  com- 
pare most  favorably  with  any  prison  in  the  Union. 

Governments,  however,  are  never  good  financiers — never  manage 
pecuniary  interests  successfully  or  well — and  ours  forms  no  excep- 
tion to  the  general  rule  in  this  respect. 

In  view  of  which  fact,  I  do  not  doubt  that  the  best  interests  of  the 
State  would  be  promoted  by  leasing  out  the  entire  labor  of  the  prison 
annually.  The  State,  through  her  agent,  feeding,  clothing,  and 
controlling  the  convicts,  as  at  present,  except  as  to  the  character  of 
work  within  the  various  shops,  which  would  be  determined  and  con- 
trolled by  the  lessee.  The  Legislature  prescribing,  with  precision, 
the  rules  which  are  to  regulate  the  leasing  of  the  various  shops,  and 
the  government  of  the  convicts,  so  as  to  secure  to  them  the  best 
treatment,  and  the  highest  degree  of  comfort  consistent  with  their 
position. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that,  in  a  pecuniary  point  of  view,  the 
State  would  be  greatly  profited  by  the  adoption  of  this  policy.  In 
the  States  where  it  has  been  tried,  it  is  said  to  have  worked  remark- 
ably well,  and  I  cannot  doubt  it  would  do  so  here. 

THE   STATE   AGRICULTURAL   BUREAU. 

The  report  of  the  State  Agricultural  Bureau,  which  will  be  laid 
before  you  by  the  Secretary,  on  the  first  of  December,  will  inform 
you  of  the  progress  made  since  the  last  report,  in  the  formation  of 
County  Agricultural  Societies,  and  of  the  results  accomplished  by 
these  Societies  in  agricultural  improvements.  There  have  been 
chartered  in  the  State,  forty- two  County  Societies.  Most  of  these 
are  in  operation,  acting  under  the  general  law,  and  reporting  annually 
to  the  State  Bureau.  Division  Fairs  are  held  each  year,  at  Knoxville 
and  Jackson,  for  the  Eastern  and  Western  divisions  of  the  State, 
akd  in  the  Middle  division  with  some  one  of  the  County  Societies  of 
that  division.  County  Fairs  are,  also,  annually  held  by  nearly  all 
the  County  Societies,  at  vrhich  a  very  commendable  emulation  in  ex- 
cellence of  stock,  agricultural  products  and  mechanical  skill  is  excited. 
A  noticeable  advance  in  improved  methods  of  farming,  as  well  as  in 
the  products  of  the  farm  and  the  implements  of  cultivation,  has  been 
made  within  the  last  few  years.  The  products  of  the  soil  have  been 
increased,  and  the  soil  itself  protected  against  exhaustion,  by  more 
intelligent  and  scientific  culture ;  while  the  invention  and  gradual 
introduction  of  improved  machines  for  the  cultivation  and  husbandry 
of  crops,  and  the  yearly  increased  facilities  for  transporting  those 
crops  to  the  best  markets,  by  making  production  cheaper  and  en- 


22 

hancing  value,  is  rapidly  advancing  the  wealth  of  the  State  and  of 
her  citizens.  The  leading  business  of  the  people  of  Tennessee  is 
agriculture  and  its  attendant  interest — the  production  of  domestic 
animals.  It  has  been  a  policy  adopted  by  your  predecessors  in 
legislating  for  the  State,  with  great  unanimity,  to  encourage  and 
foster  this  interest.  Many  of  you  have  been  witnesses  of  the  effect 
of  this  legislation  in  your  own  counties  and  districts,  and  bring  to 
your  duties  as  legislators,  personal  experience  of  the  benefits  of  past 
legislation  in  stimulating  the  industry  and  developing  the  resources 
of  the  State.  A  continuance  of  the  policy  which  has  proved  of  so 
much  benefit  will,  therefore,  I  am  confident,  accord  with  your  own 
judgment,  as  well  as  with  the  expectations  aud  wishes  of  your 
constituents. 

The  framers  of  the  act  establishing  a  State  Agricultural  Bureau, 
evidently  intended  and  expected  that  its  provisions  would  apply 
equally  to  the  agricultural  and  mechanical  interests  of  the  State,  and 
it  has  been  the  earnest  desire  of  the  Bureau  so  to  execute  their  duties 
as  to  secure  such  a  result.  In  1855-6  an  act  was  passed  providing 
for  an  appropriation  of  $10,000  each  to  East,  Middle,  and  West 
Tennessee,  to  purchase  and  fit  up  Fair  grounds,  in  the  event  that  the 
delegates  to  the  Division  Fairs  of  those  divisions  should  think  it  ex- 
pedient to  locate  the  Division  Fairs.  Under  this  act,  the  Division 
Fair  for  East  Tennessee  was  located  at  Knoxville,  and  that  for  West 
Tennessee  at  Jackson,  and  the  appropriation  of  $10,000  for  each 
fair  was  drawn  from  the  Treasury.  The  Middle  Division  Fair  was 
not  located :  the  delegates  deciding  that  they  preferred  the  plan  of 
holding  the  fair  for  that  division,  as  originally  provided,  alternately 
in  the  different  counties.  Application  was  therefore  made  by  the 
Mechanical  Association  at  Nashville,  for  a  transfer  to  their  Associa- 
tion of  the  ten  thousand  dollars  which  had  been  thus' contingently 
appropriated  and  not  used,  to  aid  them  in  building  a  hall  for  their 
purposes  in  Nashville.  The  Legislature,  at  its  last  session,  passed 
an  act  consenting  to  the  transfer,  provided  the  consent  of  the  dele- 
gate members  to  the  Bureau  from  Middle  Tennessee  should  first  be 
obtained.  The  members  in  question  have  taken  no  final  action  in 
the  matter.  I  refer  the  subject  to  you  for  further  action,  if  you 
deem  such  action  necessary  and  proper,  adopting  for  myself  the 
language  of  my  immediate  predecessor,  speaking  of  the  subject  in 
his  last  message  to  the  Legislature. 

The  Mechanics'  Institute  of  Tennessee,  said  Gov.  JOHNSON,  has 
done  much,  it  is  believed,  by  its  annual  fairs,  to  stimulate  the  me- 
chanical and  manufacturing  interests  of  the  State,  and  to  develop 
much  talent  peculiar  to  the  successful  prosecution  of  these  branches 
of  industry.  The  leading  principle  upon  which  this  institution  is 
established,  is  paramount,  in  directing  the  mechanical  genius  of  the 
young  men  of  the  country,  in  that  branch  of  mechanism  to  which  it 
is  best  adapted.  In  brief,  it  is  designed  to  stimulate  and  bring  out 
the  latent  mechanical  talent  and  excite  a  laudable  ambition  among 


23 

mechanics,  manufacturers,  ar^tizans,  and  inventors,  to  excel,  to  foster 
and  to  encourage  the  arts  in  every  way,  and  ultimately  to  establish  a 
school  of  design  for  the  benefit  of  the  youth  of  the  State,  whose  oppor- 
tunities are  limited  for  the  want  of  pecuniary  means,  or  otherwise. 
The  institution  is  not  established  upon  such  a  basis  as  desired  by  the 
Directors ;  though  they  have  been  struggling  against  many  difficul- 
ties, it  is  believed  they  will  ultimately  succeed  in  its  permanent  es- 
tablishment. They  desire  to  erect  a  Hall  suitable  for  the  institution, 
and  have  already  leased  a  lot  of  ground  convenient  and  favorably 
located  for  the  erection  of  suitable  buildings. 

The  Legislature  with  great  liberality  has  aided  other  important 
interests  in  the  State,  such  as  Railroads  and  Agriculture.  Will  it 
not  therefore  extend  similar  aid  to  manufacturers  and  mechanics, 
and  in  so  doing  place  these  great  interests  on  an  equal  footing  with 
the  other  industrial  pursuits  of  the  country,  and  thereby  exonerate 
the  Legislature  from  the  charge  of  invidious  and  partial  legislation  ? 
If  you  legislate  for  one,  legislate  for  the  whole. 

STATE   LINE  COMMISSION. 

Being  informed  by  His  Excellency,  Henry  A.  Wise,  Governor  of 
the  State  of  Virginia,  of  his  readiness  to  send  a  commission  to  the 
field,  to  mset  commissioners  from  Tennessee,  for  the  purpose  of  run- 
ning and  re-marking  the  line  between  the  States  of  Tennessee  and 
Virginia: — In  obedience  to  the  act  of  1858,  chap.  43,  I  appointed 
Gen.  Samuel  Milligan,  of  the  county  of  Greene,  and  Col.  George  R. 
McClellan,  of  the  county  of  Sullivan,  Commissioners  on  the  part 
of  Tennessee. 

The  joint  commission  has  been  in  the  field  for  some  considerable 
time,  and  I  am  informed  by  the  commissioners  that  they  have  com- 
pleted the  work  ;  their  engineer  being  now  engaged  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  necessary  maps,  &c.,  which,  when  completed,  will  enable 
me  to  lay  their  final  report  before  you. 

The  second  section  of  the  act  authorizes  the  Governor  to  pay  one- 
half  of  all  the  expenses  incurred  in  running  and  marking  the  line, 
and  two  dollars  per  day  to  each  Tennessee  Commissioner,  and  ten 
cents  per  mile  for  all  necessary  travel  going  to  and  returning  from 
the  line,  &c. 

I  have,  at  the  request  of  the  Commissioners,  ordered  the  Comp- 
troller to  issue  his  warrants  upon  the  treasury  to  them,  amounting 
in  the  aggregate  to  the-sum  of  $1,697  68. 

In  this  connection,  it  is  proper  that  I  call  your  attention  to  the 
fact  that  the  compensation  allowed  the  Commissioners  by  the  act 
above  cited,  is  wholly  inadequate  to  the  service  required.  The 
duties  devolving  upon  this  commission  involve  weighty  responsibili- 
ties, and  much  labor  and  exposure. 

I  respectfully  recommend  that  their  compensation  be  made  equal 
to  the  importance  of  the  service  required  at  their  hands. 


24 

The  act  of  January,  1858,  chap.  26,  provides  for  the  appointment 
of  two  Commissioners  by  the  Governor  of  Tennessee  to  meet  such 
Commissioners  as  may  be  appointed  on  the  part  of  the  State  of  Ken- 
tucky, "to  run  and  re-mark  the  line  established  by  the  compact  be- 
tween the  States  of  Tennessee  and  Kentucky."  The  2nd  section 
makes  it  the  duty  of  the  Governor  to  transmit  a  copy  of  the  act  to 
the  Legislature  of  Kentucky,  then  in  session,  with  a  request  that 
said  Legislature  take  such  action  as  may  be  necessary  to  effect  the 
object.  I  transmitted  a  copy  of  the  act  to  His  Excellency,  Charles 
S.  Morehead,  Governor  of  Kentucky,  immediately  after  its  passage, 
•with  a  request  that  he  would  lay  the  same  before  the  Legislature  of 
that  State,  accompanied  with  such  recommendation  as  he  might  see 
proper  to  make.  Very  soon  after  which,  I  was  informed  by  a  com- 
munication from  Gov.  Morehead,  that  the  Legislature  of  Kentucky 
had  passed  an  act  very  similar  to  our  own,  and  that  Kentucky  was 
ready  to  proceed  with  the  work.  Whereupon  I  appointed,  as  Com- 
missioners upon  the  part  of  Tennessee,  Dr.  Benjamin  Peeples,  of 
the  county  of  Henry,  and  Col.  0.  R.  Watkins,  of  the  county  of 
Jefferson. 

They  proceeded  to  the  field  some  time  in  the  month  of  November, 
1858,  and  have  been  progressing  with  the  work  since  that  time. 
The  information  derived  from  correspondence  Avith  the  Commis- 
sioners, justifies  the  belief  that  they  will  complete  the  .survey  in  time 
to  enable  me  to  lay  their  final  report  before  you  during  your  present 
session. 

The  4th  section  of  the  act  appropriates  the  sum  of  three  thousand 
dollars  to  the  purchase  of  necessary  instruments  and  the  cost  of 
making  the  survey.  This  sum  being  exhausted,  and  there  being  no 
authority  to  furnish  the  Commissioners  such  funds  from  the  treasury 
as  was  absolutely  necessary  to  complete  the  work,  we  procured  for 
them,  from  the  Bank  of  Tennessee,  upon  the  individual  credit  of 
myself,  Col.  J.  E.  R.  Ray  and  Gen.  J.  T.  Dunlap,  the  sum  of  two 
thousand  dollars,  for  which  the  Bank  holds  our  note. 

It  will  devolve  upon  your  present  session  to  provide  for  the  pay 
ment  of  the  balance  of  the  expenses  of  the  Tennessee  Commission 
in  making  this  survey,  and  also  to  fix  the  rate  of  compensation  to 
the  Commissioners,  as  the  act  is  silei.t  upon  that  subject ;  and  I  re- 
spectfully recommend  that  it  be  made  fully  commensurate  with  the 
toil,  exposure,  privations,  and  responsibilities  which  the  duties  of  the 
position  impose. 

THE    STATE   LlBRAKY.* 

I  beg  to  commend  the  State  Library  to  your  favorable  consid- 
eration. It  may  now  be  regarded  as  an  institution  of  the  State, 
having  been  founded  by  your  predecessors  of  1855,  and  liberally 
provided  for  by  the  last  General  Assembly.  An  efficient  method 
of  discharging  your  constitutional  "  duty  to  cherish  literature 


25 

and  science,"  is  by  extending  your  aid  to  this  interesting  depart- 
ment of  our  government.  But  besides  enumerating  it  among  the 
objects  of  legislative  solicitude  and  care,  I  have  another  motive  for 
giving  it  a  place  in  this  communication, — that  of  informing  the 
young  men  of  the  State,  that  even  now,  they  may  find  on  its  shelves 
much  important  aid  to  investigation  and  research  in  almost  every 
branch  of  knowledge;  and  of  suggesting  to  them  that  a  few  months 
spent  "within  its  walls,  in  diligent  study,  before  entering  upon  the 
pursuits  to  which  they  intend  to  devote  their  lives,  would  be  an  evi- 
dence of  their  resolution  to  make  themselves  useful  citizens.  You 
will  learn,  from  the  Librarian's  report,  its  present  condition  and  its 
operations  for  the  past  two  years.  It  is  hoped  that  the  work  of  fit- 
ting up  the  room,  appropriated  to  the  reception  of  the  books,  may 
be  completed  by  the  commissioners  of  the  capitol  before  your  ad- 
journment, in  accordance  with  the  act  of  1855,  so  as  to  enable  you 
to  see  more  clearly  what  has  been  and  what  remains  to  be  done,  to 
place  the  library  upon  a  footing  of  utility  and  efficiency. 

WEIGHTS  AND    MEASURES. 

The  llth  section  of  the  act  of  March,  1858,  chap.  55,  authorizes 
the  Governor  to  have  made,  under  the  direction  of  the  Superinten- 
dent of  Weights  and  Measures,  for  each  county  in  the  State,  a  set  of 
substitutes,  or  copies  of  the  standard  weights  and  measures,  and  such 
other  apparatus  as  may  be  necessary  to  their  use. 

On  the  28th  of  March,  1858,  I  addressed  a  note  to  the  Superin- 
tendent, directing  him  to  proceed  at  once  to  their  manufacture.  He 
has  completed  eighty-five  sets,  samples  of  which  are  now  in  the 
office  of  weights  and  measures,  subject  to  your  inspection.  About 
half  of  them  have  been  delivered  to  such  counties  as  have,  through 
their  County  C.ourts,  applied  for  them,  and  the  balance  are  ready 
for  delivery  upon  proper  application. 

They  have  been  gotten  up  by  the  Superintendent  with  a  precision 
and  accuracy,  and  in  a  style  of  workmanship,  which,  I  doubt  not, 
will  be  found  entirely  satisfactory  to  the  public,  and  highly  credit- 
able to  that  officer. 

They  have  cost  in  the  aggregate  $4,250  08,  which  makes  the  cost 
of  each  set  $50  00.  Nothing  has  been  done  in  the  manufacture  of 
the  standard  weights  and  measures  for  the  several  counties  of  the 
State  since  your  last  session ;  the  entire  time  and  attention  of  the 
Superintendent  having  been  devoted  to  preparing  the  substitutes 
above  referred  to. 

PUBLIC  ARMS. 

The  act  of  March,  1858,  chap.  81,  authorizes  the  Superintendent 
of  Weights  and  Measures  to  collect  and  keep  in  good  order  the  public 
anas  of  the  State.  The  Capitol  Commissioners  have  set  apart  and 
had  fitted  up  the  north  basement  of  the  Capitol  as  a  State  Arsenal, 


2C 

and  upon  my  order  the  public  arms,  heretofore  deposited  at  Knox- 
ville,  Jackson  and  the  State  Prison,  have  been  removed  to  the  Ar- 
senal and  placed  in  the  keeping  of  the  Superintendent.  A  full  and 
accurate  report,  as  to  their  number,  character  and  condition  will  be 
laid  before  you  during  the  present  session. 

REPORT    OF    THE    JOINT    SELECT    COMMITTEE. 

The  Joint  Select  Committee,  appointed  by  the  Legislature  at  its 
last  session,  to  examine  and  report,  in  vacation,  the  condition  of  the 
books  and  accounts  in  the  offices  of  the  Comptroller  and  Secretary 
of  State,  after  a  laborious  investigation  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
business  of  these  offices  had  been  conducted,  eliciting  many  facts 
and  conclusions  of  importance  and  general  interest  to  the  public, 
submitted  their  report  to  me,  six  thousand  copies  of  which  have  been 
printed  in  pamphlet  form  by  the  public  printer,  some  of  which  have 
been  distributed  amongst  the  people  and  the  balance  are  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  Secretary  of  State,  subject  to  any  order  which  you 
may  see  proper  to  make  respecting  them.  A  copy  of  the  Report  is 
herewith  transmitted.  The  facts  developed  by  this  investigation, 
demonstrate  the  necessity  of  a  more  effectual  system  of  checks  upon 
the  accounting  officers  of  the  Treasury,  so  as  to  place  it  beyond  the 
power  of  any  one  of  them,  to  defraud  the  Treasury,  without  the 
complicity  of  another.  While  I  have  the  utmost  confidence  both  in 
the  integrity  and  entire  competency  of  the  present  incumbents,  I 
deem  it  a  matter  of  the  highest  importance  that  such  a  system  of 
checks  should  be  adopted,  as  will  put  it  out  of  the  power  of  any  pubjj 
lie  officer  to  practice  frauds  upon  the  Treasury,  without  the  certainty 
of  immediate  detection  and  punishment. 

CHARITABLE   INSTITUTIONS. 

For  full  and  accurate  information,  as  to  the  present  condition  and 
business  of  the  Hospital  for  the  Insane,  and  the  Institutions  for  the 
education  of  the  Blind  and  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  3  you  are  respectfully 
referred  to  their  several  reports. 

The  establishment  and  support  of  these  institutions,  do  honor  to 
the  philanthropy  and  liberality  of  the  people  of  the  State,  and  in 
this  enlightened  age,  it  requires  no  argument  to  prove,  that  we  are 
bound,  by  every  consideration  of  justice  and  humanity,  to  those  most 
unfortunate  classes  of  our  citizens,  to  continue  to  yield  a  liberal  sap- 
port  to  these  institutions,  which  contribute  so  much  to  their  comfort 
and  the  alleviation  of  their  misfortunes.  Such  information  as  I  receive 
respecting  them,  justifies  the  belief,  that  the  present  condition  and 
management  of  each  of  those  institutions  will  compare  favorably  with 
those  of  a  similar  character  anywhere. 

Your  favorable  consideration  of  all  just  claims,  in  aid  of  these 
praiseworthy  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  cause  of  humanity,  is  respect- 
fully invoked. 


27 


SECRETARY   OF   STATE. 

Since  the  adjournment  of  the  last  session  of  the  Legislature,  a 
vacancy  in  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State  was  occasioned  by  the 
resignation  of  Dr.  F.  N.  W.  Burton,  which  I  filled  on  the  28th  day 
of  May,  1858,  by  appointing  to  said  office  John  E.  R.  Ray,  Esq., 
of  the  county  of  Shelby. 

The  duty  of  filling  this  vacancy,  by  election,  devolves]  upon  the 
present  session  of  the  General  Assembly. 

THE    GREAT   SEAL   OF   THE    STATE 

Is,  by  law,  in  the  custody  of  the  Governor,  and  can  only  be  used 
by  his  order  ;  it  is  that  which  gives  authenticity  to  every  official  doc- 
ument coming  from  the  Executive  Department.  There  is  at  present 
no  law  prohibiting  individuals  from  making  and  using  a  fac  simile, 
which  might  be  done  greatly  to  the  prejudice  of  the  State  and  the 
injury  of  individuals;  to  prevent  which,  I  respectfully  recommend 
the  passage  of  a  law  containing  such  prohibition,  and  prescribing 
such  penalties  as  may  be  considered  necessary  to  accomplish  the 
object. 

SALARIES. 

Whilst  I  hold  it  to  be  the  duty  of  all  governments  to  pursue  the 
strictest  economy  in  the  expenditure  of  public  money,  consistent 
with  the  efficiency  of  the  public  service  and  sound  public  policy,  I 
hold  that  it  is  equally  the  duty  of  governments  to  pay  their  public 
officers  such  salaries  as  will  defray  all  expenditures  which  are  neces- 
sarily incident  to  their  respective  positions,  with  a  reasonable  com- 
pensation for  their  services.  A  contrary  policy  will,  in  effect,  ex- 
clude all  men  from  the  honors  of  public  position  except  such  as  have 
estates  sufficient  to  justify  them  in  sacrificing  their  time  to  the  public 
service,  and  it  requires  no  argument  to  show  the  gross  injustice  of 
such  a  policy. 

Under  the  present  law  the  Secretary  of  State  receives  a  salary  of 
$800,  and  as  Internal  Improvement  Commissioner  $500,  with  some 
inconsiderable  perquisits ;  and  the  Treasurer  a  salary  of  fifteen  hun- 
dred dollars  per  annum,  with  three-fourths  of  one  per  cei>t.  upon  all 
monies  received  and  disbursed  by  him  as  Treasurer  of  the  Insane 
Hospital,  which  amounts  to  about  four  hundred  dollars. 

The  duties  of  each  of  these  offices  require  the  constant  presence 
of  the  officer  at  the  Capitol,  and  it  is  a  fact,  easily  demonstrated, 
that  they  cannot  bring  their  families  to  Nashville  and  support  them 
upon  their  respective  salaries. 

These  salaries  were  fixed  at  a  time  when  the  necessary  expenses 
ot  living  were  not  more  than  half  as  much  as  they  are  at  present, 
nor  the  responsibility  connected  with  these  offices  much  more  than 
half  as  great  as  they  are  at  this  time. 


28 

The  salary  of  the  Agent  of  the  Penitentiary  was  reduced  by  the 
last  Legislature  to  the  ^um  of  one  thousand  dollars.  The  duties  of 
this  office  impose  weighty  responsibilities,  great  vigilence  and  con- 
stant attention,  and  require  a  high  order  of  business  qualifications. 

I  respectfully  recommend  a  full  investigation  of  the  matter,  and 
the  fixing  of  such  salaries  for  the  officers  referred  to  as  may  be 
deemed  fair  and  just,  both  to  them  and  the  public. 

THE    HERMITAGE. 

The  act  of  February  llth,  1856,  chapter  96,  authorized  and  di- 
rected the  Governor  to  purchase,  for  the  State  of  Tennessee,  five 
hundred  acres  of  the  late  residence  of  Gen.  Andrew  Jackson,  de- 
ceased, including  the  mansion,  tomb,  and  other  improvements,  known 
as  the  Hermitage.  This  duty,  as  was  reported  to  the  Legislature  at 
its  last  session,  was  performed,  at  a  cost  of  forty-eight  thousand  dol- 
lars. The  same  act  directed  that  a  tender  of  the  property  should 
be  made  to  the  Federal  Government,  on  the  express  condition  that 
it  should  be  used  for  a  branch  of  the  Military  Academy  at  West 
Point,  and  that  if  it  should  not  be  accepted  for  that  purpose,  within 
two  years  from  the  expiration  of  that  session  of  the  Legislature,  it 
was  made  the  duty  of  the  Governor  to  have  laid  off  fifty  acres,  in- 
cluding the  tomb,  the  mansion  and  the  spring  and  spring-houses,  and 
expose  the  balance  to  public  sale.  The  tender  having  been  made  by 
my  predecessor,  and  not  acted  on  by  the  Federal  Government,  the 
Legislature,  at  its  last  session,  passed  an  act  (chap.  52)  giving  the 
further  time  of  two  years  from  the  6th  of  February,  1858,  during 
which  the  Federal  Government  might  signify  its  acceptance  of  the 
tender.  By  the  original  act,  Mr.  Andrew  Jackson  was  allowed  the 
possession  of  the  property  for  the  term  of  two  years,  unless  applied 
for  by  the  General  Government  within  that  time ;  and  by  the  act  of 
1858,  it  was  made  the  duty  of  the  Governor  to  see  that  the  property 
was  taken  care  of,  until  the  Federal  Government  should  determine 
the  question  of  its  acceptance.  The  Federal  Government  having 
failed  to  signify  its  acceptance  of  the  property  on  the  terms  provided 
in  the  act  of  1856,  and  Major  Jackson  having  notified  me  of  his 
intention  to  remove  from  it  during  the  coming  winter,  further  legis- 
lation will  be  necessary  at  your  present  session. 

If  it  be  deemed  advisable  to  sell  a  part  of  the  property,  I'  recom- 
mend that  the  part  reserved  by  the  State  be  laid  off  in  a  square,  so 
as  to  include  the  mansion,  tomb  and  spring  and  spring-houses,  and 
extend  out  to  the  Nashville  and  Lebanon  Turnpike,  which  would 
probably  embrace  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres.  You  cannot 
preserve  the  harmony  and  beauty  of  the  property  without  including 
at  least  this  much ;  and  that  specific  instructions  for  its  preservation 
and  care  be  provided  by  law. 

The  most  appropriate  custodian  of  the  estate  would  seem  to  me  to 
be  the  State  Agricultural  Bureau ;  and,  in  the  event  of  its  willing- 


29 

ness  to  accept,  anil  preserve,  and  beautify  the  property,  the  whole 
should  be  retained,  if  preferred  by  the  Bureau.  This  body,  com- 
posed of  gentlemen,  eminent  alike  for  their  enterprise,  intelligence, 
public  spirit  and  patriotism,  would,  I  am  confident,  undertake  the 
management  of  the  property,  and  so  direct  it  as  not  only  to  preserve, 
but  to  beautify  and  adorn  it. 

The  farmers  of  the  State  would  feel  constant" pride  in  decorating 
with  their  choicest  care  the  fields  Avhich  the  hero  lo-ved  so  well,  and 
which  are  sacred  to  them  as  holding  the  ashes  of  the  patriot.  I  re- 
fer the  matter  to  your  consideration,  confident  that  you  will  do  all  in 
the  premises  which  the  Representatives  of  the  people  of  a  great 
State  can  do,  to  protect  as  the  shrine  of  patriotism,  and  to  decorate, 
as  the  resort  of  beauty  and  taste,  the  beloved  resting-place  of  him 
who  will  be  regarded,  by  all  coming  generations,  as  one  of  the 
purest  patriots,  and  as  having  been  at  once  the  hero  and  the  states- 
man, the  captain  and  the  sage. 

Invoking  the  blessings  of  Divine  Providence  upon  your  d£libera- 
tions,  this  great  Commonwealth,  and  our  whole  country,  I  commend 
to  your  care  and  favorable  consideration  the  foregoing  recommenda- 
tions, with  all  other  questions  which  affect  the  prosperity  and  well- 
being  of  the  people  of  Tennessee. 

ISHAM  G.  HARRIS. 


000  067  261 


